listen on the radio...but looking at the stats we outshot the form team in the league 19-14,with similar corners and not that much difference in possession..although we committed a few more fouls than them....over the whole 90 mins were we really as bad(apart from the fullbacks) as people are suggesting?or would the forum generally be more positive had O'Grady put away the sitter...just asking the question as, as I say i had to miss it.
Does it say how many were on target? We had a few that only just went out for a goal kick, some were closer to the corner flag than the nets and some were like back passes.
It's difficult to give an overall assessment of the game because the full backs and Etuhu were so bad it drove you to distraction. It wasn't just a bad game from them, there was something fundamentally wrong with their ability to play football and you just resigned yourself to the fact that no matter how well we play this season we will always lose with these players in the team. I've never seen anything like it before, well, not since Wiseman's performance in the second half on Boxing Day. O'Grady should have scored at the end, but I agree with Danny, "Maybe we could have got an equaliser at the end but would it have been justified? Maybe not." When a manager admits that, you know you didn't deserve anything.
That would be the goal, one from JOB straight at the keeper and one from Kennedy who decided to side foot it to the keeper, instead of firing it in hard. I dont think that Derby keeper had much to do really which is worrying when we had that many shots !, but then again only 3 on target !
I think the atmosphere on here would be somewhat different if O'Grady had scored in injury time. I don't think we committed more fouls than Derby, the statistics are based on what the Referee awarded and he was one of the most one-sided refs I've seen at Oakwell for many a year. Steel - a couple of great saves, couldn't do anything with either goal, the first was a wicked deflection, the second an unmarked header at the far post. Cranie and Ramage played well. Dawson, O'Brien and Mellis all worked hard and looked threatening in the 2nd half. O'Grady worked hard but he's not fully fit in my opinion. Cywka was lively and Pedersen was ok. the rest were poor, particularly Kennedy. Etuhu may as well have stayed in bed for what he contributed. I thought we were playing against a good team high in confidence (which showed) and put up a creditable fightback in the 2nd half. If Kennedy had been anywhere near their right-winger at the start of the 2nd half we'd have had a point, instead Jimbo had to run half the length of the pitch to try and stop him and had no chance. No where near as bad as some are making out.
If you warm up or practice to miss the target or NOT score, thats what happens in the game!! The missus and me intentionally watched the shooting practice before the game yesterday and if 4 or 5 goals were scored thats all. The majority either missed the target or were easily saved by Dibble.
I noticed O`Grady only netted one before the Bolton game, whereas he usually only misses once during warm up.